Insulation

Garage conversions usually necessitate extra insulation as the garage space will be altered to a habitable room, and therefore needs to adhere to building regulations for insulation in this type of room. These regulations set a U-value for insulation, which assesses the rate of heat loss. These are set differently for walls, floors, and roofing. To meet building regulations the garage conversion must meet the U-values in all three of these areas, but additional insulation can be installed to exceed these values and increase energy efficiency. Wall insulation for garage conversions is normally performed by employing internal wall insulation, which adds insulated plasterboard to the existing walls. This will add thermal insulation and stop heat from dissipating through the walls. Insulation must also be installed around windows and doors as these areas can leak heat particularly poorly. Roofs for garage conversions will also require insulation. Pitched roofs will demand insulation to the same standard as the rest of your home. Flat roofs additionally require insulation. This can be achieved utilizing a cold roof system, where insulation is fixed between the roof joists along with ventilation to prevent condensation forming. The other option is a warm roof, where insulation is installed above the roof joists. Floor insulation is also needed in garage conversions. This is less difficult if the floor level of the garage requires elevating in order to meet the rest of the house as another layer of insulation can be easily added to either a raised concrete floor, timber joists or a floating floor. If the floor doesn’t need to be elevated it may be necessary to dig out the floor to add the necessary insulation.